Darian Chamblee is not your average ball player. Last season, he teetered back and forth between a JV player and a largely out of rotation varsity option. But in his junior season, Darian has risen to the occasion as a major roleplayer, and earned his spot as a starting guard for the Eagles. This isn’t something that just suddenly happened, either. This is the product of months of hard work and constant persistence. His success is a tribute to the kind of player, and the kind of person he is working to become. For Darian, there are no days off.

Basketball, as is with almost any sport, is as much a mental game as it is physical. Raw talent is never enough; you need a strong work ethic and an ability to recognize your weaknesses to take your playing to the next level. Darian knows this better than anyone. His smooth passing and catch-and-shoot style of playing was effective. But instead of being satisfied, he rounded out his game with a summer of working at the rim. “My focus before junior year was to get a lot stronger and better at finishing around the rim,” The point guard says, “Strength and interior finishing was what I was lacking to have a complete game. I lifted weights all summer and practiced finishing close to the basket to gain confidence.” Go to any Enloe basketball game, and you’ll see that this work was not in vain. He’s still that effective passer and steady shooter, but couple that with him being a threat in the paint and on fast breaks and you have a nastily consistent point guard. This is all a product of the personal work ethic Darian possesses. 

“What helped me stay consistent was having a schedule. It consisted of waking up at 6 am to get my skill work in finishing around the basket,” Darian says. This portion is all on his own time. “After that initial workout I had 9am workouts with the rest of the team. After a break for a couple hours, I had my weightlifting sessions at 6:30 pm.These workouts were 5 days a week all summer.” This kind of full commitment is what sets apart the casual player from the dedicated one. “It was definitely a lot,” Chamblee admits, “But it pushes me to be a better player.” It’s not like basketball is the only thing in the Enloe junior’s life either. Darian is an AP student and is preparing for the major standardized tests like the rest of the class of ‘23. Balancing a heavy workload while maintaining a consistent basketball schedule is no easy task. But for Darian, both commitment and consistency are who he is.

Being an accomplished athlete is a big deal. It takes devotion, a work ethic, balancing skills, and not to mention, natural athleticism. With the combined efforts of the team, the Eagles are off to a stellar 9 win start, including winning the first 5 games straight. Seeing Darian’s playing on the court doesn’t do justice to the hours of preparation that go on behind the scenes, building the foundations of the player and the person he is. Commitment to the game is one of Darian’s defining qualities, and his engagement in the sport shines a light on the growing strength of the Enloe basketball program.